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Marc Lawrence

Marc Lawrence has authored thousands of articles expounding on the three primary forms of sports handicapping: Fundamental, Statistical and Technical. To be a successful handicapper, blending all three forms of analysis into the handicapping equation. Marc relies heavily on a proprietary powerful database of scores, stats and results of games played since 1980, both College and Pro Football and College and Pro Basketball.

Marc has been handicapping sports professionally since 1975, having won more documented Top 10 Handicapping Achievement awards than any handicapper in the nation. He won the 2005 STARDUST FOOTBALL INVITATIONAL Contest and was a SEMI-FINALIST in the 2006 $100,000 LEROYS' MONEY TALKS Contest last season. He finished the 2006 season as the No. 1 handicapper in the NFL as documented by SPORTS WATCH in Las Vegas. Marc also finished No. 1 in the nation in College Football win percentage in 2005 as documented by both the SPORTS MONITOR in Oklahoma and SPORTS WATCH in Las Vegas. He was named HANDICAPPER OF THE YEAR in 2005 by FOOTBALL NEWS.

In 2008, he finished No. 1 in NFL win percentage according to SPORTS WATCH and also captured 1st place honors in the 2008 PLAYBOOK WISE GUYS CONTEST.

Marc has hosted a national radio show "MARC LAWRENCE AGAINST THE SPREAD" for each of the last 16 years on over 100 stations syndicated in the USA. He is a tireless handicapper who works a minimum 60-hour week during the football and basketball seasons. As a handicapper he firmly believes that three things can happen when you bet an underdog, and two of them are good. He enjoys helping others to become better informed.

Marc married his high school sweetheart 40 years ago and has one son, Marc Jr., who works with him in the industry. Aside from publishing the PLAYBOOK Football Yearbook magazine and Weekly Newsletters, Marc enjoys golf and horse racing.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Stats Matter – A Guide to Handicapping the Bowl Games

Smart handicappers alike agree on one thing – preparation is the key to success. The better prepared you are the better chance you stand at succeeding.

With the 2010 College Bowl season now upon us it’s time to get ready for the thirty-five games that await. While a myriad of different techniques and approaches exist one simple element is often overlooked and that is how teams are or have been performing on the playing field ‘In The Stats’ (ITS) as they enter into its bowl game.

As handicappers we know better than most that the scoreboard does not tell the entire story. Like a doctor examining an MRI or an X-Ray it’s vitally important to look inside the patient before rendering a diagnosis.

Listed below are noteworthy results of how the 70 bowl teams have fared ITS overall or most recently this season…

Air Force – 11-1 ITS this seasonAlabama – 11-1 ITS this seasonArizona – 10-2 ITS this seasonArkansas – 9-2-1 ITS this seasonArmy – 0-4 ITS L4 games seasonAuburn – 12-1 ITS this seasonBaylor – 1-3 ITS L4 games seasonBoise State – 11-1 ITS this seasonBoston College – 5-1 ITS L6 games seasonBYU – 4-1 ITS L5 games seasonCentral Florida – 2-3 ITS L5 games seasonClemson – 4-7 ITS this seasonConnecticut – 1-6 ITS L7 games seasonEast Carolina –1-4 ITS L5 games seasonFlorida – held 4 foes season low yardsFlorida International – 8-4 ITS this seasonFlorida State – 1-4 ITS L5 games seasonFresno State – 11-1 ITS this seasonGeorgia – 1-4 ITS L5 games seasonGeorgia Tech – 2-3 ITS L5 games seasonHawaii – 11-2 ITS this seasonIllinois – held 5 foes 1-2 season low yardsIowa – 0-3 ITS L3 games seasonKansas State – 0-6 ITS L6 games seasonKentucky – 4-1 ITS L5 games seasonLSU –held 3 foes season low yards Louisville – 8-4 ITS this seasonMaryland – 5-7 ITS this seasonMiami Fla – 7-0 ITS L7 games seasonMiami Oh – 5-0 ITS L5 games season Michigan – allowed 4 teams season high yardsMichigan State – 10-2 ITS this seasonMid Tennessee State – 2-6 ITS L8 games seasonMississippi State – 3-3 ITS L6 games seasonMissouri – 2-3 ITS L5 games season Navy – 4-5 ITS L9 games seasonNebraska – held 6 foes 1-2 season low yardsNevada – 10-3 ITS this seasonNorth Carolina – 8-4 ITS this seasonNC State – 3-3 ITS L6 games seasonNorthern Illinois – 10-3 ITS this seasonNorthwestern – 1-3 ITS L4 games seasonNotre Dame – 4-2 ITS L6 games seasonOhio State – held 10 foes 1-2 season low yardsOhio U – 4-8 ITS this seasonOklahoma – held 5 foes 1-2 season low yardsOklahoma State – 9-3 ITS this seasonOregon – 11-1 ITS this seasonPenn State – 4-1 ITS L5 games seasonPittsburgh – 9-0 ITS L9 games seasonSan Diego State – 5-1 ITS L6 games seasonSMU – 8-1 ITS L9 games seasonSouth Carolina – 8-4 ITS this seasonSouth Florida – 2-6 ITS L8 games seasonSouthern Miss – 9-3 ITS this seasonStanford – 10-2 ITS this seasonSyracuse – 1-6 ITS L7 games seasonTCU – 12-0 ITS this seasonTennessee – 4-0 ITS L4 games seasonTexas A&M – 9-3 ITS this seasonTexas El Paso – 1-5 ITS L6 games seasonTexas Tech – allowed 3 teams season high yardsToledo – 4-2 ITS L6 games seasonTroy – 8-4 ITS this seasonTulsa – 9-3 ITS this seasonUtah – 9-3 ITS this seasonVirginia Tech – held 5 foes season low yardsWashington – 3-0 ITS L3 games seasonWest Virginia – held 6 foes 1-2 low yardsWisconsin – 10-2 ITS this season

Given the fact that teams who outgain their opponent win the game better than 80% of the time, and straight-up winners in bowl games being 539-93-10 ATS since 1980, it’s crucial to your success when evaluating a team’s chance of winning the yardage wars.

Just another slant on handicapping the Bowl contests. Add it to your arsenal and enjoy the games!

GET IN THE KNOW… order your copy of the 2010 PLAYBOOK College Bowl Stat Report. Call 1.800.752.9266 or log on at http://www.PLAYBOOK.com

Written by Marc Lawrence

Marc Lawrence can also be found at Playbook.com - One Click Handicapping

Friday, December 10, 2010

Marc Lawrence NFL Upset December 12

CHICAGO over New England by 3

Yes, we saw Branch, Welker, Woodhead and Green-Ellis run over, through and around the Jets all Monday night. We also saw the Pats’ defense allow a meager three points. And yes, we realize
that Tom Terrific hasn’t thrown an INT in seven games while Jay Cutler has the makings of a Sara Lee turnover machine. We even checked our database twice (in honor of Santa) and found out that Cutler is 10-20-2 ATS versus AFC opposition while HC Lovie Smith is 0-7 ATS off back-to-back straight up wins during the final our games of the season. We’re even aware that the Patriots own a better road record (26-11 SU, 25-12 ATS) than the Bears home record (24-13 SU, 16-20-1 ATS) of late. But we also know that we are getting points at home with the better defense – much the better defense. And we’re certain there’s another thing very few realize: non-division road teams off a Monday Night division revenge win and cover are just 7-15 ATS since 1980, including 0-3 SU and ATS when off a win of 24 or more points. While most of the trends still favor the Pats, the scheduling dynamics favor the Bears. When in doubt, opt for the defensive home dog. ‘You’ll be glad you did’.

Written by Marc Lawrence

Marc Lawrence can also be found at Playbook.com - One Click Handicapping